We interviewed Julien Chorier after his 2011 Hardrock 100. In his American ultra debut, Chorier ran a 25:17, for the third fastest time in Hardrock history. For more, you can also check out our pre-race interview with Julien.

Anton was at the race crewing for Joe Grant and I did speak with him a number of times. I didn't feel it appropriate to interview him regarding him injury. However, I'll share that so far everything is progressing in the right direction, he's getting regular check ups, and he's mentally dealing with the injury well.

Bryon, interviews are very nice and interesting when the interviewed person understands and speaks english well. This is not the case. I suggest in the future you do interviews with non english speaking runners with the help of the translator so that it makes sense.

Panos, it's an interesting balance between wanting perfect comprehension and the delay of a translator. I err toward forgoing perfection for a more intimate interview with an athlete when they can hold a conversation for me. Julien, Nerea Martinez, and Kilian last year might not have had perfect English, but I enjoy speaking directly with them. Only when someone knows next to no English, such as Miguel Heras, will I resort to a translator. I do appreciate the feedback and will continue to work on making my non-native English speaker interviews better.

What I enjoy when someone us not a fluent English speaker, it is super interesting what one or two words they do chose to use to characterize their thoughts such as "very big" to describe the scenery and "angry" to describe stomach issues :-) I think I will use that one in the future.

It was difficult to follow some of what Julien says. However I do like the flavor of hearing the runner talk. The way I look at it is that Julien did a much better job talking English then I could do speaking French. I give him kudos for being having the guts to do the interview in his non-native language.

Congratulations to the 2011 Hardrock champion Julien Chorier! To lead for 99 miles is truly extraordinary!

Absolutely amazing that Julien Chorier ran so far in the lead for most of the race and finished 2 hrs ahead! Thanks for this interview!

Bryon, I think you did an excellent job in asking questions and paraphrasing Julien's answers when needed. I think Julien speaks English quite well and it would be insulting if you insisted that he have an interpreter. I admit, there were areas where it was difficult to understand exactly what he was saying, but you followed well, and with your paraphrasing we were able to get the gist it. Job well done!

Thanks, Tina! I think it's also important to encourage these international athletes with their English speaking. I know when I've studied foreign languages (Spanish, French & Russian), my biggest barrier to speech was my own fear and anxiety.

At 1:30, when he talks about Engineer Mtn, he states that it was very very long with a lot of 'quad'… I can attest that as Nick and I chased Julien up the pass, we encountered no fewer than forty noisy, exhaust-spewing ATVs and Jeeps, few of whom seemed to heed our presence.

I couldn't help but wonder what Julien thought of these mechanical beasts as they barreled down the mountain, some with 'Switzerland of America' emblazoned across the windshield.

Nor could I help but wonder what they thought of this Salomon speedsuit-clad Frenchman charging up the road.

That said — my utmost respect for Julien. What an incredible athlete and a fantastic ambassador to ultra.

I have spent time with Julien at two Salomon Advance Weeks. In 2010 his English was minimal, in 2011 it was much better and here better still – it's great to see Julien conducting an interview in this way. I fully agree that an interpreter would have probably clouded the interview.

Aside from the linguistics, what a humble guy, a credit to the sport of ultra running and one heck of a tough cookie – one can only imagine what mental control 99 miles in front must take, aside from the quad pounding.

Matt, That sounds like Julien's progression mirrors that of Kilian's, if only started slightly later. It seems to be a huge (and awesome) trend among the Salomon International runners. When I met Nerea in San Francisco last December she came off as not knowing English at all and this year she gave an interview. Sure, that's probably her growing confidence, in large part, but still!

Let's not forget that this is him speaking only an hour after finishing Hardrock. I'm sure most of us would be happy to just be able to talk at the end of such a brutal race, let alone do an interview in a foreign language.